The Government and ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) decided to invest no more money in Irish Fertilizer Industries because of the absence of a viable business plan, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said last night.
Speaking after the announcement that a liquidator was to be appointed, Ms Harney said that considerable efforts by the company to devise such a business plan had not succeeded.
The State and ICI, joint owners of IFI, would now co-operate with the liquidator "to ensure that the process can be as smooth and as efficient as possible".
However, Fine Gael spokesman Mr Phil Hogan claimed the closure was related to "rampant cost increases in the economy" which the Government and the Tánaiste had allowed to escalate.
"This is a further indication that the Government did not intervene early enough to minimise the job losses and of the Tánaiste's obvious failure to convince anybody that part of the company, at least, could survive," he said.
The Labour spokesman Mr Tommy Broughan called on the Tánaiste to reject the request for liquidation of the IFI board and to open discussions aimed at keeping the plant open.
"It will be extremely difficult for those laid off today to acquire alternative employment," he said.
Ms Harney said both the Government and ICI "have been very supportive of the company, including by means of the provision of €34 million in the past two years. Indeed, since inception in 1961, the value of Exchequer support for NET and IFI has amounted to nearly €750 million in present-day terms."
IFI is a joint venture between ICI, which owns 49 per cent, and NET, which owns 51 per cent. It was established in 1987, taking over the operations of NET in Marino Point and Arklow and Richardson's in Belfast. NET is 100 per cent State-owned.
Ms Harney said IFI operated in a difficult trading environment "where it has struggled to provide a return on this investment. That position has deteriorated and became critical in recent months as losses mounted.
"I made it clear last month that the Government could only contemplate investing more money in the company in the context of a viable business plan.
"I regret very much that despite the very considerable efforts of the company in that regard, that it has not been possible to produce such a plan."
She said that a few years ago, and again in recent months, the shareholders had sought expressions of interest in acquiring the company. However, this process had failed to identify anyone prepared to invest in IFI.
She said her first concern was to ensure that "everything possible be done to assist those concerned to find alternative employment as quickly as possible.
"In particular I have spoken with FÁS who will immediately look at the needs of the workforce in both Cork and Arklow with the priority being to provide whatever retraining might be necessary."